1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a vacuum sealer, which exhausts air from a thermal adhesive vacuum bag containing products such as foodstuffs, and then heats and seals the open end of the vacuum bag, and, more particularly, to a vacuum sealer, which uses a linear packing member, in place of a closed-loop shaped packing member, used in a conventional vacuum sealer, thus simplifying the construction of a body accommodating a vacuum pump, in addition to maintaining the same vacuum level as a conventional vacuum sealer, and which includes a detachable vacuum space creating member at which the end of the vacuum bag is located and to which vacuum pressure is applied using a pump, a vacuum release means which supplies external air into a vacuum space so as to release the vacuum after air has been exhausted from the vacuum bag and the end of the vacuum bag is heated and sealed, and a filtering means which prevents impurities, discharged from the products during a vacuum creating operation, from entering the pump, and which is constructed so that an upper body contacts a lower body even if a user does not continue to press the upper body during the vacuum creating operation, thus being convenient for the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, vacuum sealers have been widely used in restaurants and food shops. The vacuum sealers are used to vacuum pack products, such as foodstuffs or cooked food, so as to prevent the products from decaying, thus prolonging the usable life of the products. Further, there is a growing tendency for people to go shopping on weekends in large discount shops, in addition to the increase number of nuclear families, so that food may be stored in refrigerators for about a week. For these reasons, the sales of household vacuum sealers have increased.
In most conventional vacuum sealers, closed-loop shaped packing members, which are sealing members provided on upper and lower bodies of the vacuum sealer, are mounted to both the upper body and the lower body.
When the upper body contacts the lower body, a vacuum chamber is defined between the sealing members. Vacuum pressure is applied to the vacuum chamber by a pump. Since embossments are formed on the surface of a vacuum bag, the end of which is located in the vacuum chamber, it is possible to evacuate the vacuum bag.
When a pair of closed-loop shaped sealing members is provided, as in the conventional vacuum sealer, a vacuumizing operation can be efficiently achieved using only one of the two closed-loop shaped packing members. The other packing member serves only to seal the end of the vacuum bag. Based on this, the construction of the vacuum sealer can be further simplified, and material costs can be reduced.
Generally, a vacuum sealer includes a lower body in which heavy parts, such as a heater and a vacuum pump, are provided, and an upper body which is hinged to the lower body. A vacuum bag, which is placed in a vacuum space defined by sealing members when the upper body closes the lower body is evacuated, and one end of the vacuum bag is heated to be sealed. Afterwards, external air must be supplied to the vacuum space using a vacuum release means so that the vacuum bag can be easily separated from the vacuum sealer. The prior art relating to the vacuum release means is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 0538520, which was filed by the applicant of the present invention, was registered on Dec. 16, 2005, and is entitled Vacuum Sealer Having Vacuum Release Means, and Korean Patent No. 0500961, which was filed by the applicant of the present invention, was registered on Jul. 4, 2005, and is entitled Vacuum Sealer Capable of Simultaneously Performing Locking Operation and Vacuum Releasing Operation. According to the cited documents, the vacuum release means of the vacuum sealer is manually operated. Thus, in order to afford convenience of use, the automation of the vacuum release means is required.
Further, since a vacuum space creating member is provided in the lower body, liquid discharged from a vacuum bag, such as gravy, may gather in a vacuum channel. Thus, in order to repeatedly separate and wash the vacuum space creating member, a detachable vacuum space creating member is shown in FIG. 4 of Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-0107107, which was filed by the applicant of the present invention, was published on Nov. 11, 2005, and is entitled Vacuum Sealer Having Partial Open Type Vacuum Channel. However, the detachable vacuum space creating member of the conventional vacuum sealer, disclosed in Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-0107107, is not installed or detached in a fixed direction. When liquid, such as gravy, or impurities, which flow out from the products contained in the vacuum bag during the vacuum packing operation of the vacuum bag, gather in the channel, the vacuum space creating member must be repeatedly detached or attached in order to wash the channel. Because of this repeated detachment and attachment, a gap may form at the coupling site, and leakage may occur at an exhaust passage coupled to a vacuum pump, thus resulting in reduced durability of the product. If the vacuum space creating member of the conventional vacuum sealer is called a “two-sided detachable” member, the vacuum space creating member according to the present invention may be called a “one-sided detachable” member.
Further, in order to bring the upper body securely into contact with the lower body, even if a user does not press the vacuum space formed by general loop-shaped sealing members when the vacuum bag is evacuated and sealed using the vacuum sealer, Korean Patent No. 0500961, which was filed by the applicant of this invention, and Korean U.M. Registration No. 0405381 which was filed by An JunYoung, was registered on Jan. 2, 2006, and is entitled Vacuum Sealer Having Heating Function have been proposed. Both of the documents maintain the engagement of the lower body with the upper body using a hook-type locking means. However, a user must push a button provided on the side surface of the lower body in order to release the locked state of the hook. Therefore, when the vacuum sealer is used at first, the hook and the latch are stiff, so that it is difficult for weak users to use the vacuum sealer. Further, after the vacuum sealer has been used for a lengthy period of time, the hook and the latch may wear out or break. Moreover, the conventional vacuum sealer is usually placed on a dining room table or a kitchen table for use. However, when the space is narrow, the space cannot support products contained in the vacuum bag, so that a vacuum packing operation cannot be performed smoothly.